Letter to the Editor: Volunteer's life powerful doxology

4/18/2006

Editor,

For four years I had the privilege of working with Rev. Tom Dahl in the Alaska Missionary Conference.A year ago as the Alaska Missionary Conference wished my family a farewell back to Mississippi, we also celebrated with Tom and Gail Dahl his retirement from years of outstanding service as a pastor and attorney for the conference.Tom represented the kind of pastor I aspire to be: compassionate, engaged, unabashed and unapologetic.

He loved his family — and would gladly and freely share his pride in his three adult children. But Tom also listened. He always wanted to know about my ministry. He genuinely cared for my family. Tom embodied the saying: The greatest response one can give back to God is a life fully lived. His life was a powerful doxology.

We lost a great United Methodist doing mission work on the GulfCoast last week. Tom died doing what he loved to do — serving and loving God’s precious people. He, along with others on the VIM team from Alaska, went 4,000 miles out of their way to show us that they cared what we were going through in south Mississippi.

Please pray for his family and our connectional family in Alaska. He will be sorely missed.

Rev. Bruce Case

Court Street United MethodistChurch

Hattiesburg

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